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Maryagatae (Sauromatian Retinue)
Well armed and armoured, this medium-heavy cavalry is well suited to close and melee with opposing horse. Description The two-pawed wolves are said to be worse than the four-pawed kind. These Sauromatæ have been initiated into a warrior confraternity, tasked to preserve the fertility of the land and fighting off forces of chaos. Along these duties pertaining ecstatic cults, the Maryagatæ drink the exhilarating sacred Haoma, the elixir of the life force, which granted them strength and invulnerability. Thus intoxicated they charged into battle in bestial frenzy, indifferent to wounds and pain. Their primary role is to bring overwhelming force against the enemy's own leader and being the first to charge the enemy's line in order to demoralise the opponent to the point of a rout or create breaches for their comrades to exploit. Historically there are several descriptions of wolf-like behaviour by Skythian and Sauromatian related peoples. For example Herodotos reported how the Neurjoi once a year turned into wolves for few days, while both Arrianos and Ammianvs Marcellinvs, speaking of Alantæ and Iwzagtæ, noted how they howled like wolves before attacking. The Roman writer also recorded what he considered their battle-cry, "Mara! Mara!", which can be translated as "Death!" or "Kill!". Archaeology has also uncovered Sauromatian toreutics depicting warrior bands fighting dragons, wearing wolf pelts as head gear, engaged in an initiation to demonstrate their prowess. Relics of this tradition were preserved even in the folklore of modern Ossetians, whereby during Fæzzægy Tutyr, or the Autumn Tutyr, initiation games occured in honour of Tutyr, the Lord of the Wolves. Considered holy days imbued with magic, even blood feuds were interrupted for their duration. Most of its features make it probable that originally Fæzzægy Tutyr was a New Year festival, protecting against predators. All these behaviours can also be compared to the Vedic mythology of the Marutas, attendants of thundering deities, whose sons they consider themselves to be. They are described as being beastlike, very violent and aggressive, roaring and charging against evil forces. Their weapons could split the clouds, to let rain and life come, or shake mountains and destroy forests. Comparative studies have pointed out the similaries with the Norse Einherjar, indicating much deeper Indo-European traditions. These frenzied warfare tactics seem to stretch back to the first Indo-European warriors. Stone slabs in the Ukraine dated around 3000 BCE depict long haired warriors, naked except for a belt, holding five different weapons at the same time. An image resembling Iron Age depictions of ceremonial war dances and berserkers. Literary evidence from India to the Mediterranean region also speaks for a spreading of a new level of intensity in warfare going hand in hand with the migration of Indo-European war bands. Displaying possessed-like behaviour their identifying trait was blind rage, which enhanced their strength and agility, enabling them to face multiple opponents simultaneously. Typical were also references to shape-shifting, related to donning animal cloaks and mentally transforming into predators. However physical changes did in fact occur: severe agitation, protruding and flashing eyes, swelling and grimacing, extremely fast and loud heartbeats, together with foaming at the mouth, blood rush and elevated body temperatures are described in several accounts from disparate cultures. Although this could point to the ingestion of psychotropic substances, it is not likely that this happened before battle, but was confined to ritual ceremonies led by shamans. Indeed frenzied champions formed something of a fraternity separated from regular society during peacetime. Their shamans would train them and it is possible that, consciously or subconsciously, the displaying of frenzy in battle was a result of intense mind training. Indeed these fraternities always centered around a warrior cult and one of the ancestors, whereby each new member would choose and assume the identity of one of the fallen previous members. Ultimately turning the bodies of the fighting warriors into receptacles of the same warrior spirits and identities, this initiation radically changed the young warrior's mode of being. Accessing an aggressive and terrifying fury transmuted their humanity into raging carnivores during combat. Category:Units Category:Units available only in EB2 Category:Steppe Units Category:Bosporan Category:Getai Category:Sauromatae Category:Hayasdan